In the past there have been different species defined based on location, size, and colouration, however until tissue samples are taken from various locations and DNA analysis is done, all mantas are currently considered one species -- manta birostris.

Manta rays are large seacreatures related to sharks. They have a flexible skeleton made of cartilage. These fish have large wings (manta means "blanket" or "cloak" in spanish, explaining it's name) instead of pectoral fins which allow them to "fly" gracefully through the water. The distinguishing feature of the manta from other rays is the headfins (cephalic lobes) which, when unfurled, are used to funnel food and water into the mouth. This gives the manta ray an unusual appearance, and is the reason this ray is often called the devil ray.

These fish are one of the largest species in the ocean with a wing-span that can reach over twenty feet and weighing upwards of 2300 pounds. They vary in colour from black to grey/blue to green to tones of red, with varying degrees of blotching (which are used to identify individual rays) and white on the underbelly.

Manta rays feed on zooplankton, small fish and crustaceans that are funneled into their mouths with their cephalic lobes as they swim. after they finish eating, the lobes are folded inward to streamline the body for swimming.

The pups are wrapped (with one pectoral fin wrapped above its body, and the other wrapped below) in a thin shell inside the mothers body and later bornalive. The size of a newborn manta ray measures approximately four feet across the wings. Pups will double in size during the first year of life.

Mating behaviour features one or more males chasing a female for approximately thirty minutes. A male will bite one of her pectoral wings, which will injure her and impair her ability to swim. She is then mounted (they are belly to belly) and penetrated by one of his "claspers" (a paired sexualappendage located on the inner side of the pelvic fins).

Manta rays (despite their nickname devil ray) are very gentle and will allow divers to pet them and sometimes hitch rides on them (though this is not recommended, as it removes a protective layer of mucus from the skin which can result in sores that last for months).

I found references to Manta Ray harpoonhunting, however I could find no information about why they were hunted (currently they are a popular attraction for divers and are not hunted).